Plunger-elevator.



G. B. SMITH.

PLUNGER ELEVATOR.

"APPLICATION FILED MAR. H, 1914.

1,185,256. Patented May-30, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

R 62. a fa Y" WITNESSES. IIVVEIVTO/f rmod/ I B Y G. B. SMITH.

PLUNGER ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 11. 1914.

May 30, 1916. EETS-SHEET 2- Patented INVENTOR WI T/V E 88E 8 UNITED srarrns PATENT OFFICE,

GUY B. SMITH, on NEW YORK, 1v. Y., ASSIGNORI'IJQ OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, 01 JERSEY cm, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or NEW messy.

PLUNGER-ELEVATOR.

v To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GUY B. SMrrH,-a

citizen of the United States, residing in vators, of which the following is a specifi cation.

My invention relates in general to plun ger elevators, and is directed more particularly to means for'guiding and lubricating the elevator plunger.

An object of my invention is the provision of one or more plunger followers or traveling guides for the plunger which' are automatically positioned by 'the movement ofthe car. so as to support the plunger against lateral movement at proportionately equal distances on the portion of the plunger extending from the cylinder. A further object of the. invention is the provision of a simple, practical and eflicient lunger follower which may readily be removed from the plunger when desired and which combines the dual function of lubrieating the plunger and supporting the same against lateral'movement.

Other objects of my invention will appear hereinafter, the novel combinations of elements being pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a plunger hydraulic elevator containing an embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a modification; Fig. 3 is a side view of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail elevation view of the plunger follower; Fig. 5 is a plan view of 'Fig. l; Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation view of the plunger follower showing the lubricating device.-

Like reference characters denote similar parts in all of the figures.

It is well known in the art to which my invention relates, that in many plunger elevators it is impossible to prevent the plunger working loose from the car, and also to maintain the cylinder stufiing box tight against leakage unless some means is used to prevent a buckling or swinging of the plunger. This is true particularly in the case of high rise elevators, when the length of plunger oftentimes exceeds 250 ft. and when the elevator is called upon to perform abnormal Work, such as lifting a heavy safe.

Patented May 30,1916.

Application filed March 11, 1914. Serial No. 823,890.

' Since the plunger is supported upona (501- umn of incompressible fluid, and carries upon its upper end a load represented by the unbalanced weight of the 'car-xand-its load together with the weight :of the "plunger itself, it is readily seen that .the plunger is at times subjected to a heavy-compression stress. As the plunger is universally 'constructed' of steel tubing of very moderate thickness, it possesses considerable flexi bility and it is found that the resultant deflection of the plunger sets up "a. vibration therein which not only results in loose connections and a leaky stuffing box, but also tends to set up an objectionable swaying or see-saw motion of the car which is particularly noticeable when the latter is undergoing a change of speed or in making a landing.

My invention is adapted to obviate the above noted and other disadvantageous fea-.,75 tures inherent in a plunger elevator, as well as to maintain the plunger supplied with a liberal coating of lubricating.- oil so as not only to lubricate the plunger and prevent it from rusting and thereby.,cutting out or abrading the stufling box packing, but also to prevent corrosion or pitting of the plunger. This feature of preventing pitting is most important, since not only does pitting tend in time to allow' water to enter the plunger and thereby render the elevator inoperative, but where a series of pits become lead to a serious accident. i a

My invention is clearly shown in the accompanying drawing in which anelevator carl is carried upon one end ofa plunger 2 which is adapted to reciprocate in' a cylinder 3 under the action of fluid pressure. Fluid buffers 4, 4, arelocated at the bottom of the hatchway, and serve the purpose of limiting the travel of the car in a downward direction and also to stop the car without shock or jar in case of overrun; The usual controlling valve" andcounterweight for the car have been omitted from the drawings, for the purpose. of simplicity 105 of illustration, but it 'is-tobe understood that the same would bearranged 'and'used' in the customary manner. i

The elevator of Fig. 1 is of comparatively" moved through the cables 7, 7, each of; which is secured to'the top of the hatchway and leads under a sheave 8 carried by the follower. From here the cable 7 leads up over a sheave 9 carried ,by the car and is made fast to the follower at. the point 10. The lower follower 6 is suspended from and operated by a pair of cables 11, 11, each of which is secured to the top of the hatchway and leads under a sheave 12 carried by the lower follower. From here the cable leads up to the upper follower 6 andmade fast thereto at the point 13. By "reason of this arrangement of sheaves and cables, it is obvious that the upper follower of Fig. 1 will move with the car at ?;rds car speed, whereas the lower follower will in like manner move with the car only at 11rd car speed. By reason of this arrangement the plunger will always be guided and supported by the followers 6, 6, at two points which are equidistant from each other andfrom the cylinder and car, respectively, regardless of the length of the plunger which protrudes from the plunger cylinder. When the car is at the lowermost floor landing, the followers 6, 6, are close to ether, and when the car is at the uppermost floor landing, the followers are automatically spaced apart as shown. The buffers 4; 4, prevent the car from approaching too close to the cylinder stufling box and also prevent the car from settling on the followers.

In Figs. 2 and 3, the elevator travel is not so great as that of Fig. 1, and consequently but one follower is necessary or desirable.' In this case the ratio of travel of car and plunger follower is2 :1, and the follower will automatically take up a position midway between the .car and cylinder. This 2:1 movement of the follower is obtained by the system of roping shown which com-, prises a pair of cables 14, 14, which are secured to the top'of the hatchway, and each cable leads down around the sheave 8 carried by the follower and is connected to the bottom of the car. Guide sheaves 15, 15, may be secured under the car to guide the cable 1 1, so that the follower will tend to hang with its axis coinciding with that of the plunger.

Referring to Figs. 4, 5, and 6, it will be seen that the follower 6 is made in two similar halves 16, 16, which are bolted together in position on the plunger 2 by bolts 17. The outward end of each half 16, 16 is slotted vertically and receives the tongue or shank 18-of a guide shoe 19 which latter 1s preferably lined with strips of hard wood or hearing metal as shown in Fig. 5. The

follower is lined with Babbitt metal a simioil reservoir 21 is formed'in each half of the follower which may be filled with oil by removing the screw plug 22. A tube 23 containing a wick leads from the u per part of each reservoir to a groove 24 ormedin the bearing 20, and oil is conducted from the reservoir by means of capillary attrac-' tion. If desired, thetube 23 may be cut ofi so asto permit the oil to flow to the bear:

ing by gravity, Surrounding the plunger at the bottom of the follower is a cup shaped member 25 of leather, felt, or other flexible material containing a series of incisions see Fig. 4) which are in light contact with the surface of the plunger, and serve uniformly to distribute the oil fed from the reservoirs 21, 21, over the surface of the plunger. The cup shaped member 25 may be secured to the follower in any desired manner but is here shown as being retained by a metal ring 26 which is screwed to the follower, the metal and member 25 being made in two pieces split on line with the two halves of the plunger follower.

A plunger follower constructed in accordance with my invention may easily be placed in position or removed merely by removing the bolts which hold the guide shoes 19 in position, whereupon the latter may be raised or lowered so as to permit the two parts 16, 16, of the follower to be disconnected from each other and removed. Since substantially all elevator plungers are in most cases of the same diameter, the follower may be used in substantially all installations, and when the distance between guide rails differs in different installations, it is merely necessary to supply guide shoes having different lengths of shanks 18 to enable the same structure to have universal use. The shanks- 18 of the guide shoes may be provided with oval or elongated bolt holes so as to permit of a slight adjustment in their respective supporting members 16, 16, and thereby take care of any variation in the distance between the guide rails of difl'erent installations. The use of two independent reservoirs for feeding oil is a good fee ture for in case one should become empty through neglect or otherwise fail to feed oil, the other one may be depended upon to do the work. The follower embodies in a uni tary structure a means for guiding and supporting an elevator plunger against lateral displacement and for preventing any swaying or see-sawing motion and at the same time maintains the plunger amply supplied memes with lubricating material, and hence many of the disadvantageous features inherent in a plunger elevator are done away with.

Whereas Fig. 1 shows but two plunger followers, it is to be understood that in some cases I may use more than two followers depend ing largely upon the length and construction of the elevator plunger and the load that it has to carry.

While I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, I desire not to be limited to the precise arrangement of parts herein shown and described, since it is obvious that one skilled in the art could readily make changes and modifications therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a plunger elevator, of a traveling guide for the plunger, and means associated with said guide for lubricating the plunger.

2. The combination with a plunger elevator, of a guide for the plunger, automatic means for causing said guide to travel with the car at a lesser speed than that of the car, and means associated with said guide for lubricating said plunger.

3. The combination with tor, of a guide for the plunger, automatic a plunger eleva means for causing said guide to travel with the car at a lesser speed than that of the car, an oil reservoir carried by said guide, and means for conducting oil from the reservoir to the surface of the plunger.

4. The combination with a plunger eleva tor, of a guide for the plunger, automatic qneans for causing said guideto'travel with the carat a lesser speed than that of the car, an oil reservoir carried by said guide, means for conducting oil from said reservoir to the plungeryand means for distributing the oil upon the surface of the plunger.

5. The combination with a plunger elevator, of guide rails therefor, a guide for the plunger comprised of two similar parts bolted together, the plane of division be-' tween the parts lying in a vertical direction, and guide shoes secured to each of said parts coacting with said guide rails, said shoes being detachable from said guide when the guide is in operative position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GUY B. SMITH.

Witnesses:

WALTER C. Smne, JAms G. Barnum... 

